Underground Comics Part 2

In class I read two comics, MU The Lost Planet, and Bizarre Sex: A giant penis attacks New York. Overall, I really love the breadth and depth (or sometimes lack thereof) – of the topics covered in both of these comics. MU is a high fantasy comic, with a semi-serious tone. The story centers around two ancient civilizations, and the struggle for power and control over these technologically advanced worlds. The tone of Bizarre Sex was quite a bit different, and starts of with a story about a werewolf sitting on a dock and using a bucket of severed penises to catch a mermaid, which he then hacks in half and carries off to presumably eat. Ultimately I think its really awesome that there was a form of media that could handle both the fantastically epic, and terrifyingly bizarre.

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Week Thirteen: Webcomics

The greatest web comic I’ve ever read – and possibly the greatest web-comic of all time, is without a doubt Steve Lichman by Dave Rapoza and Dan Warren https://rapozacomics.carbonmade.com/projects/5313679 I think Steve Lichman is a great example of why web comics are so successful. The rough linework and simple color palate give it a personal touch, while the relatively short panel size make it quickly rewarding and easy to scroll through. It really feels like someone’s labor of love, that they come home to each night and scribble out when the mood hits. It also looks like something one of your friends might’ve drawn, and I think that makes the comic feel more personal and contemporary. It s simplicity also makes it feel more visceral, like all of its guts are right there on the page for you to see. Another thing that I think makes it so successful is the overall tone, and the humor and wit, that seem to seep out of every panel. It’s freaking hilarious, and I think that the hu...

Week Ten: Manga

Barefoot Gen was a really heavy way to begin this class. The perspective was both tragic and very humbling. It hurt to watch, but I’m glad that I was exposed to it. Even though the medium of animation doesn’t typically handle heavier topics like that, I think that the story accomplished what it set off to achieve, and was probably able to convey the story in a more palatable way than a live action version would be able to. I’ve always appreciated Manga, (my gateway to the world of manga being through FLCL) but I think its safe to say that my appreciation has been greatly increased, at times forcibly so, since my time studying at Ringling. Building on what Scott McCloud wrote in understanding comics, I think its ability to be so expressive through various levels of magnification and representation makes it an extremely powerful style, and one that is extremely adaptable, handling both serious and entertaining topics alike.

Week Eight: Stereotypes and Ethics

It was definitely interesting learning about how far we’ve come as a culture when it comes to the stereotypical representations used in early comics and other forms of media, especially in terms of race, sexuality, gender and ethnicity. To me, despite the current cultural climate of dissatisfaction, I think that we’ve come pretty far as a culture in one lifetime. It actually seems like we’re probably pushing the limit for the amount of change and adjustment that some people can make to their worldview in one lifetime, without completely plunging them and the culture into a state of mass anxiety and hysteria. That being said, I wish we would have acknowledged that in class in a more positive way, and approached this topic in the lecture from a more reassuring perspective - especially in today’s current media-fueled maddening political climate. It would have been refreshing to hear about this topic from the perspective that the changes we need to make as a culture, have already happ...

Literature of Comics and the Graphic Narrative

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